The Wasteland Warriors
by thatguyovrthere
Summary: Years after a nuclear war took place, a fourteen year old boy named Jack was born. Now, Jack must follow his uncle Eli's legacy and work with countless protagonists, such as Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, to rebuild society as it once was. But, what happens when armies of men try to stop them? Based off of the movie, "The book of Eli". No Greek gods. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**The Wasteland Warriors**

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

Chapter 1 The Wasteland Warrior

"Mom, you can't do this, i'm only fourteen," I said hastily. My mother, Solara, only chuckled. She shuffled slowly down the hallway of our small house, and into her room. I followed.

"Oh, Jack. You have no idea why i'm doing this, do you?" She asked. I shook my head. "Well, of course you wouldn't," She continued, "you are only fourteen." I sighed slowly. She did it again. Repeated something I said. Her mind really is beginning to deteriorate, even though I prayed it wouldn't, and that my sixty-four year old mother would stay strong. I guess that's what the wasteland does to you. She's lucky she survived this long. She ushered me to sit on her bed, and she supported herself on her cane next to me. "I'm going to tell you a story," She began. "One that you haven't heard yet." I leaned forward, suddenly interested. Mother's stories were beautifully told, but they have gotten boring. Anything new was a pleasure to hear. "Your uncle, I never truly told you about him, correct? I only mentioned him?" I nodded at her. "Well, he wasn't really your uncle. I call him that because he kept me alive." She stopped momentarily, then continued. "His name. Was Eli. He was a tall, black man. He had short, stubby hair and a short, stubby beard. He always wore sunglasses, even though he was blind. He also never stayed anywhere permanent, because of two reasons. One, because God himself, told Eli to go west, to find a safe place for the final copy of the King James version of the bible to rest, and two, because he allowed his faith to guide him, and he never feared the wasteland." She stopped again. I snapped my finger nonchalantly, and she continued. "I lived with a horrid man named Carnegie. When Eli came into our rundown town, Carnegie forced Eli to stay with us, and he also made me seduce Eli. Unfortunately for him, Eli was a holy man, just like us, and did not give into temptation. The next day, Eli escaped, and I followed him. And just before two men tried to do unspeakable things to me, Eli stopped them, and together, we went west. We faced many challenges, and one day, Carnegie found us, and stole the book. Eli still continued west, and I pleaded for him to stop. He had no purpose to continue going, but all he said was, "The lord told me to go west, so that is where i'll go." I decided to follow him, and we reached what was once known as the Alcatraz prison. Eli claimed he had the bible in his possession, and they let us in. When a nice old man asked if he could see the book, Eli said to get a small stack of paper and a single pencil. When the man did, Eli laid down and began reciting the whole bible. He died shortly after, and his few possessions, his headhunter sword over there, the brown trench coat on the coat rack, and his music player were all given to me. When the old man asked if I wanted to stay, I refused, and told him I was going to continue on. So here I am, living as an old woman with my handsome son preparing to send him on the task of his life, just as me and his uncle Eli did. Now you see why I wish you to do this." She moved closer, and moved her frail hand to my face. "Jack...My sweet, sweet boy. You've been my greatest treasure, and even though I may die, you will live on. You must find them. Restart a civilization. Regrow the trees. Rebuild the world as it once was. Have children. Stop this madness. Bring the love back into this world." She stopped speaking once again as she began stroking my hair. "Your brown hair is gorgeous, you know that right? And you are fit enough to battle a gorilla. Come Jack, it's time for bed. In the morning, you will follow the legacy your uncle built. You will become the new wasteland warrior."

**Author's note**

**How do you like the story so far? I'm going to base it off the movie, "The book of Eli", and don't worry, Percy and the whole gang will be here, but the gods will not. For all you Percabeth lovers out there, I will add some fluff, so no worries. I will also add Tratie, Thalico, and maybe some others. I hope you guys enjoy. Thanks for reading! **

**-N**


	2. Chapter 2

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

Chapter 2 Traveling

I woke up slowly with the usual cracks of light from my window shining in my face. I craned my neck to the right, and I flipped my hourglass over, starting my morning wake-up routine. I shoved my blankets off of me and walked down the hall into our bathroom. Luckily, we were one of the few people with a shower, but it only used cold water. I quickly stripped off my boxers and turned it on. After I was drenched from head to toe, I turned it back off and began scrubbing myself with an old sponge. I wouldn't dare leave the water running because the wasteland barely has enough water left to last, at least, water that we can get to. After the nuclear war, most lakes, rivers, and wells dried up, and even though the seas are still there, the man Carnegie had apparently stopped most people from obtaining water from there. After a couple of minutes, I finished my shower, put a towel around my waist, and walked back into my room. I opened my old- fashioned dresser and pulled another pair of boxers and jeans out of it. After I put them on, I moved towards my cabinet and took out a plain black shirt. When I reached for my jacket, Mother appeared in the doorway. "You won't be needing that," she said. "Come to the living room when you're ready." And with that, she shuffled back down the hall. I turned around slowly and inspected my run-down room for the one item I knew I was going to need out in the wasteland. "There you are," I said approvingly. I picked up my dark shades and hung them from my pocket. I took one final glance around my room, and then walked to the living room. My mother was sitting in her chair directly across from me. She smiled, and gestured for me to drink the tea she made for me. I picked it up and downed half of it in one gulp as I sat down on the small couch. I placed the tea back down on the table and I urged my mother to tell me whatever she was going to tell me. It only half worked.

She stood, and plucked Eli's coat of the nearby rack. She weakly tossed it to me, and said, "You are Eli's legacy. Therefore, you will carry his items." She then picked up Eli's headhunter and his music player off the floor and gently handed me them. "Are you ready to go, Jack?" She asked me. I nodded reluctantly, and she led me to the door. "Oh, I almost forgot. I'll be right back." She moved a lot faster than she normally did, and in a few moments, she returned with a black bag in her hand. It had 'Jansport' written across the front. "This is one of the few things left undamaged from before the war. I sewed a sheath into the side of it for Eli's headhunter, and I put some dried beef, four bottles of water, one hundred dollars, and a copy of the bible Eli carried. Oh, and this. It's a charger for your music player. If you place the two wires into the bottom of the player and turn this crank for fifteen minutes, it'll be recharged." She smiled as I thanked her for the pack. I sheathed Eli's sword and slung his trench coat around my tanned shoulders. I put the thin straps of the backpack on my shoulders and I turned towards my mother. She moved forward and embraced me. "I love you, Jack. Remember what I told you. Follow your heart. Have faith that the lord will guide you." She held me at arms length. "Be safe," she said. I nodded as tears began to swell up in my eyes. I turned and took a shaky breath. I could feel my worries begin to leave me, and I took the glasses out from my pocket and placed them over my eyes. I took the music player from my other pocket, selected the song "The Crow & the Butterfly" by Shinedown, which I was shocked that Eli had, and I put the music player itself back in my pocket. I took the earbuds and placed them both in my ears. "Goodbye," I whispered as I began walking forward.

I decided that I should go East. Since Mother had told me that she and Eli traveled West, I figured i'd find the people mother was talking about to the East. Plus there was a small encampment that way.

As I walked, I took out Eli's sword and swung it experimentally. I had some practice with guns and swords when Mother and I were younger, and I found that this sword felt good in my hand. I re-sheathed it and continued down the dirt road. For miles, all I could see was this road. There was no vegetation, no water, no rubble from destroyed buildings, nothing. I was glad that I had my music player, for without it, I would've gone mad. I walked...And walked...And walked some more. Then finally, I could see something in the distance. I began jogging, and in about five minutes, I found myself in the center of the encampment I knew about. As I walked, I glanced around and saw numerous people giving me glares, so I moved faster and once a saw a sign labeled 'Water', I turned towards it. During my walk from Mother's home, I finished off two of the bottles of water, so I figured I would need more. I opened the small gate and moved towards the water pump. I began to fill my bottle when a large man grabbed my wrist. "That water's not for free, ya know." I fell backwards and began to stutter. "S-sorry. I can, uh, pay whatever fee." He laughed deeply, and stepped forward. "No can do, boyo. I don't like stealers. I'd much rather have your-aw shit. Not this again." He glared outside the gate towards three people and as he moved toward it, I decided now would be the perfect time to slip away. I opened the second gate, but just as I went to shut it, he turned and the man was on me again. "Now you're goin' to try to escape?" His hand slapped me hard across the face, and I fell to the ground. He stomped his boot down on my chest and I struggled to breath. "I think i'm gonna have to put you down, boy." His boot slammed down on my chest again, and I wheezed. He laughed heartily into the air, and I rose my hand to Eli's sword. My grip tightened around the handle, and any fear I had of this man was gone. I swung it around and hacked his foot clean from his body. The man screamed as he fell. He reached for his gun, but I slammed my own boot on his hand, hearing all of his fingers crunch. The man yelled, and I looked around at the other people. They all weren't paying attention, as if this man had karma coming to him. I sighed and instantly felt guilty. I cut a large chunk from the man's shirt and placed it around his bleeding wound. I then grabbed a conveniently placed hose and wrapped it around the shirt piece, clamping the piece to his leg. He cursed constantly. "Why don't you just finish the job you twerp?" He yelled in my face. "Because I don't kill for no reason!" I yelled back. "You wrongfully accused me of stealing water when it was just a misunderstanding, and then you try to kill me for it!" I stood up, and took ten dollars from my bag. "Your sign said five dollars per bottle, well here you go." I tossed the money on my chest, and the man cursed again. "You'll pay for this boy." He said. "You'll pay." He then passed out, and I shook my head at what I had just done. _Why did I let him live? _I thought, _In the wasteland, it's kill or be killed. Survival of the fittest. You don't just let somebody who tried to kill you live._ Two men walked up, glanced at me, all hostility gone, and carried the third man off. _You said it yourself, _the back of my mind said, _You don't kill for no reason._ I scrunched my eyebrows and walked back towards the pump. I quickly obtained my two bottles of water, and when I turned and began walking away, I bumped into someone. "Uh, sorry." I said uneasily. I looked up and saw a boy standing in front of me. He looked about sixteen, with broad shoulders, tanned skin, long, jet black hair, and sea-green eyes. Behind him stood a skinny, tan blonde girl with grey eyes, and another girl, with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. The boy stuck his hand out and smiled. "My name is Percy," he said. I shook it slowly, and the girl with black hair sighed exasperatedly. "Christ Percy, you have no clue how to approach somebody." She shoved him out of the way and asked, "What's your name?" I stood, stunned for a moment, then answered. "Jack Valentine," I said more confidently. She nodded. "Ok, well, my name is Thalia Grace. This is Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. Listen, we wanted to ask you if you had any food to eat." I thought about the beef Mother had packed me, and since that was all I had, I lied. "No." I said, looking away. She looked troubled by this. "Oh, ok. In that case we wanted to give you some." She said. I broke and immediately sputtered the truth. "Ok, look, all I have is a small bag of dried beef, nothing else." Thalia chuckled. "We're still going to give you some. Well, actually we wanted to ask you if you wanted to come back to our hideout with us. It's a helluva lot safer than wandering the Wasteland." I pondered this for a moment. Mother had talked about people setting traps and killing others, but these people weren't much older than myself and they didn't look like they would hurt me at all. "I suppose," I said, and all three of them smiled. "Good," Thalia said. "Our trucks are just outside the town. Shall we go?" I nodded. "Yeah." She began walking, and I followed. "So why are you taking me back to your hideout?" I asked. "Wouldn't I just be in the way?" The other girl, Annabeth, laughed. "In the way? Please. We're always looking someone with a pure heart. Your's happens to fit the requirements. After all, you had that man under a gun, and instead you stopped him from bleeding out _and _paid him for the water. I don't think you'd be in the way." Percy chimed in. "And you're polite too. Not many people around here are as humble as you seem to be." I smiled for the first time in ages. "Alright, here we are," Percy said as we approached a small convoy of vehicles. There were three black hummers and two camouflage four-wheelers. I saw four people, a guy and a girl on one atv and and a guy and a girl on the other. The first guy had blonde hair and electric blue eyes, like Thalia's and the other guy had light brown hair with blue eyes. The first girl had black hair and brown eyes, and the second had brown hair and green eyes. All of them were skinny and fit, and all of them were chatting until we approached. They inspected me. "Who's this?" The guy with blonde hair and electric blue eyes asked. "This is Jack." Percy replied. "Jack, this is Jason Grace, Thalia's brother. That's Piper Mclean, Travis Stoll and Katie Gardner." Everybody said hi, and then Piper asked, "So did you get gas and food?" Percy grinned sheepishly. "Well, we were about to when we got entertained by Jack. He had a misunderstanding with the water pump man and one of them lost a foot. Obviously, Jack has both feet, so the pump man lost his foot. And instead of killing him, Jack stopped the man from bleeding out and paid him for the water." Everybody nodded in approval. "You seem to be a good man, Jack," Jason said. "So i'm assuming he's coming back with us?" Percy nodded. "Just after we get gas and food." He grinned, and him, Thalia, and Annabeth walked off. Travis was the first one up. "There's a few other's you should meet," he said. So one by one we went to every truck and he introduced me to several people. Nico di Angelo, Connor Stoll, Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, Grover, Juniper, a guy named Jacob, another girl named Sarah, and the final guy apparently didn't know his real name, so everybody called him Delta. By now, everybody was outside the vehicles, standing around me. "You're done traveling man," Nico said. "Welcome to the family."

**Author's note**

**Here's the second installment to the story. I hoped you all liked it. I should be posting every weekend.**

**Thanks again for reading!**

**-N**


	3. Chapter 3

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

Chapter 3 Family

Shortly after Nico said that, Percy returned with our supplies. I jumped into the last hummer, which was also carrying Delta, Sarah, and Leo. Leo looked like he was about to jump out of the driver's seat from hyperactivity, so I simply shook my head and turned towards Delta. He was a tall, somewhat husky guy. His skin was darkened slightly, so I assumed he was a Mexican and his hair was medium length. Overall, he looked like the type of guy you'd call to kill a bear.

Next, I turned towards Sarah who was in shotgun, and since I was on the left side of the car, I managed to get a good look at her. She had long, black hair, similar to Mother's when she was younger, and she had bright green eyes as well. She was slim and fit, and her skin was lightly tanned. Obviously enough, she didn't do much traveling of the Wasteland because most people's skin was harshly darkened. I didn't do much traveling myself, so our skin tones matched slightly. I heard a large, crashing sound and I turned to look out the window. Percy was swearing loudly at a broken box of food he had dropped. He started laughing as he began to throw the bags of food into the back of the truck in front of us. In a moments time, he was finished and the trucks peeled off. We continued East, and for the next thirty minutes, we simply talked. Delta, Sarah, and Leo asked me about my past. Where I lived, who I lived with, things like that. I told them everything except for my mother's real name and the story about Eli, even though they eyed my sword like they knew something.

We suddenly stopped, and I realized we were in the lot of a very, very large mansion. I got out and gaped at the towering structure, and then I noticed something next to the porch. It had a red, rounded top and a green base. I walked over to it and asked, "What is this?" Percy laughed at me. "It's a flower. More specifically, a rose." I turned towards him. "How'd you get it to grow?" He smiled. "It's a secret." He winked and walked inside the house. I quickly smelt the rose then followed, and once inside, I didn't know where to go. Delta put his hand on my shoulder. "I can give you a quick tour of the house. Fyi, there's more people here you haven't met yet. Roughly twenty i'd say." I blinked at him. He simply laughed and started walking. "It's an exaggeration. Ok, so, straight up the stairs is the two halls. Each hall has about fifteen rooms and each hall is specific. The left hall houses boys, the right hall houses girls, well, unless Percy says otherwise. Each bedroom has it's own bathroom as well. But, try not to use too much water. The sea only has so much." I nodded, even though I was surprised they got their water from the sea. "Now, Percy and Annabeth are the only ones to share a room so far, so if the need arises, just ask. Their fairly nice. Um, near the front door is the kitchen. Breakfast is at seven, lunch is at two, and dinner is at eight. We have a lot of tables, so just find one and sit down. Other than that, your room is next to mine which is down this way." He waved his hand, and in a moment he was opening the door to my room. "Here we are man. I hope you enjoy your stay at Percy Jackson hotel. Oh, I make myself giggle." He said chuckling, shutting the door. I shook my head and inspected my room. It was larger than my previous room, and directly in the center against the far wall was a queen sized bed. It looked brand new, but then again, so did everything here. A door leading to the bathroom was on the left side of my bed, and on the right side of my bed was a small table. On the far right wall was a dresser, and on the left was a cabinet closet. I smiled, and then realized I didn't bring any clothes. I swore and quickly walked to Delta's room. I knocked three times and once he said enter, I did. "Hey man, I don't have any clothes." I said. "Are you sure?" He asked. "Each room is stocked with a week's worth of pants and shirts." I swore again for not checking, and as I walked back into my room, I could hear Delta laughing hard at me. I checked and just as he said, there was a week's worth. I decided now would be a time for me to wind down, so I quickly grabbed a black pair of pants and a shirt and took a five minute shower. I walked out feeling more refreshed than I have been in a while, because they actually had hot showers here. I sat down on my bed and pulled my backpack closer to me. I unzipped it and took out the bible that Mother had given me. When I went to open it, a slip of paper fell out. I opened it and scrawled on the slip was a note from mother.

_Dear Jack,_

_I hope that you are safe and that you are doing well on your journey. I am writing this with the intent to make sure you stay on your path. To ensure myself that you will have faith in the lord. Look at your surroundings and think about the past. The lord has probably already done things for you in ways you can't understand. Stay strong Jack,_

_and don't give up. -Mother_

I stared at the page for a moment until I understood. "Maybe he has," I whispered. I folded the slip and stuck it back inside the bible, and I began to read. After a few minutes of reading I began to feel strange.

_Genesis 3:17:_

_And unto Adam he said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten off the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat off it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat off it all the days of thy life"_

I stopped momentarily, and then continued.

_Genesis 3:18:_

_Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field._

I sat, puzzled by the meaning of this sentence, and then continued.

_Genesis 3:19:_

_In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread_

_Till you return to the ground, _

_For out of it you were taken; _

_For dust you are,_

_And to dust you shall return."_

I stopped again, this time slapping the book shut. I don't know why, but I felt disturbed. Something didn't seem right. An ominous silence filled the air as I breathed deeply. I then noticed that Genesis 3:19 was altered. It wasn't saying thou, and shalt, and medieval words. "I guess Eli told it wrong," I said.

"And god said, 'Let there be light', and there was light." Delta strolled into my room, and grinned. "I knew it." I looked at him confused. "Knew what?" I asked in a hostile manner. He smiled. "I knew that you knew Eli. You have his headhunter, and his music player, _and _his trench coat."

"What's it to you?" I asked. He laughed. "We all knew that you were hiding something, now we know what it is." I slowly moved my hand over to the handle of my blade. "Why did you guys want to know so badly?" I asked, glaring at him. He noticed my hand, and then he rose his hands up in a surrendering position. "Hey, it's not like that. I swear. It's kinda like, well, around here, we don't keep many secrets. We tell everyone, everything, because we believe everybody deserves to know. We're a family." I felt my sudden burst of anger leave, and I released my grip on my handle. "Sorry," I said sheepishly. "The Wasteland is harsh, I can't tell everyone I knew Eli." Delta nodded at this. "Yeah, well he was pretty infamous among some people. We wanted to know because Eli was a symbol to us. A symbol of hope, faith, etcetera. We have idolized him in a way, respected him highly. But, now that that's over with, I had originally come in here to tell you that dinner is in five minutes. For your information, we have a clock hanging over the doorway, so if you ever need to check time, it's there." I nodded. As Delta began to walk away, I called to him. "Delta!" I said. He poked his head back in the doorway. "Yes?" He asked. I grinned. "Thanks for...Well, everything." He smiled back. "No prob."

**Author's Note**

**So far i'm on schedule. I'll continue posting until tomorrow, and then you're gonna have to wait until next weekend for more. Thanks for the views everybody!**

** -N**


	4. Chapter 4

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

Chapter 4 First Threat

The next day I tried to make myself get up earlier. I succeeded, and managed to get to breakfast on time. I walked out, completely dressed in my trench coat, only to notice everybody still in their pajamas. I got a couple glances, but nobody made fun of me.

I quickly scanned the immense kitchen until I found Delta waving me over to his table. I was sitting down in a matter of moments, greeting him, Sarah, and Jacob. "Sleep well?" Sarah asked politely. "Yeah," I replied, "Only I thought we were supposed to be dressed for the day, not still in our sleepwear." Jacob shook his head quickly and said, "Nah. Percy's cool. So long as we're ready _after _breakfast, he's fine." I nodded and began to study him. He had short, stubby hair on the top of his head, and from what it looked like he was fairly skinny. His lips were frozen in a tight line and his eyes were an extreme version of dark brown, adding to his intimidation factor.

I decided that we probably wouldn't be enemies, and I focused my thoughts on breakfast. "So, i'm kinda new here. When do we eat?"

"Just after Percy gives the announcements," Delta replied. I nodded, and as if on cue, Percy walked to the center of the kitchen and spoke. "Alright everybody, here it is. We've decided to let all of you take the weekend off from whatever jobs it is you have to do." Everybody cheered, and he waved his hands to try to regain everyone's attention. He smiled brightly

as he continued. "That means Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, but after that you guys, it's back to the daily grind. Now, let's eat!" Everyone cheered again as several people, all in their twenties, walked out carrying hundreds of platters of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. I grinned as my food was set in front of me, and before I ate, I did two things. I decided to ask Delta where they got the began and eggs and everything else. "Oh, we have a farm outside. I think we have ten cows, five goats, a few sheep, roughly eight chickens, some pigs, and other animals. We also have a storage room, by the way, downstairs that's holding a lot of rice, wheat, canned foods, and weapons." I nodded and I turned to my food. I began to pray, and everyone at my table stared at me guiltily because they didn't pray themselves. As I finished, I noticed them, and I smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," I said, "I didn't mean to-" "Nah man," Jacob interrupted me, "It's perfectly fine. Let's just get back to eating, shall we?" I smiled brighter as I tasted the pancakes. Then the eggs, and then the bacon. I was finished in five minutes flat, and everybody in the kitchen was still eating. I laughed and when Sarah asked why, I pointed at my plate. She grinned and shook her head. "We put our plates in the tubs over there," She said pointing to the corner of the kitchen. I got up and carefully placed the chipped plate in one of the tubs.

I sat back down and began to stare off into space. About fifteen minutes later, Delta was snapping in front of my face. "Huh, what's wrong?" I asked. He grinned. "Dude, breakfast was over five minutes ago." I looked around at all of the deserted tables and stood. "None of you told me," I said. He shrugged. "You looked like you didn't want to be disturbed. But, now that that's over with, what do you want to do?" I looked at him with a confused expression, and he elaborated. "I figured that you and I could hang out with Jacob and Sarah, or something like that." I thought about it, and it sounded fun, but I felt like I was forgetting something. "Eh, maybe in a moment. I got something to do." He nodded. "K man, just stop by whenever." I smiled, and before we parted ways, I said, "So Sarah and Jacob. Do they have a thing?" Delta smiled wider. "No. Why? You got something for Sarah?" "No!" I said hastily. "I was just curious." He rolled his eyes. "Whatever man." Before I could protest further, he left and I decided that I needed some air, even hot, dusty air. I quickly went upstairs and retrieved Eli's sword. When it comes to the Wasteland, rule number one is to never go anywhere without a weapon.

As I walked outside, I swung my blade slowly. I could still see red blood stains from Eli and Solara's previous victims, and I wonder if that man's blood was with it.

I started swinging faster and in more unique ways. I added a few spins, and in a minute, I was breathing heavily. I stopped, and wiped the sweat off of my forehead. I glanced around, and my eyes landed on a puff of smoke in the distance.

"What is that?" I asked myself. It was getting closer, and then I could see a figure on a motorcycle. I began walking to the mansion's gate, and I shoved it open. I stopped moving, and I simply waited for whoever was coming to arrive. I then heard a gunshot and the figure on the motorcycle fell off. Multiple trucks circled around the it and then stopped behind it. They were very close, maybe about one-hundred yards from the gate of the mansion. Several men got out of the truck and kicked the person over as he/she was trying to get up. _Help, _my mind commanded.

I turned my head facing the mansion and I yelled. "PERCY! ANNABETH! GET OUT HERE NOW!" I then turned back towards the trucks and began walking. Then jogging. Then sprinting. I stopped about five yards from the trucks, just as the man who appeared to be the leader pulled out a gun. I glanced back toward the mansion, and saw Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and about half the residents moving toward us. "Please," I heard the figure, the girl, beg. I looked back. "Stop," I commanded forcefully. The man pointing the gun at the girl's head glared at me. "This ain't your business kid," he said. "Get out of here." Two of his men rushed towards me, obviously trying to restrain me, and my reflexes reacted. I flicked my blade and both men dropped to the floor. The leader looked towards me, and then at his unmoving men, and raised his eyebrows. "Did you not hear me?" He aimed his gun at me this time and I tensed. He moved closer until he was a few feet away. "This little kid thinks he can come in here and do whatever he wants. And he's bringing all these people with him." I figured the man was talking about Percy, so I started to stall. "Why are you harming this girl?" I asked. "I was bringing a messa-" The girl began until one man clamped a hand over her mouth, making me twitch. "She killed my men," the leader said. _He's lying, _my mind said.

"And I know you're stalling, so I think i'm just gonna finish you off now." He laughed, and looked at one of his nearby men. _Attack, _my mind commanded once more. I obeyed, and closed the distance between us in a second. I disarmed him before he knew what was happening and I moved back about three feet, pointing his gun at him. He gaped at me, eyes wide. "What do you think you're doing?" He asked venemously. "Protecting the weak," Percy said, coming to a stop next to me along with several other people. "And stopping those who are wicked," Sarah said, raising her knives. I grinned and said, "Give us the girl." The leader, with no room left to argue, raised his hand and gave a signal. They released her, and she scrambled towards me, holding her leg. "Percy," I said. He looked at me, and I tossed him the gun. He immediately pointed it at the leader, who looked like he was about to make a run for it. I turned towards the girl, who looked about my age. Her blonde hair was in clumps and dirt and blood smeared her face. She was in a simple t-shirt and jeans, and her face was filled with fear. I looked at her hand hand which must have been covering the bullet wound. "Delta, come here." I said. He was next to me in a second, and I told him to take the girl to the mansion and tend her wounds. He nodded, and I turned back towards the scene taking place. It was like everyone was frozen in place. Everyone on our side had the weapons raised, and the culprit's men had their hands hovering over their pistols. "Please go," Percy said, breaking the intense silence. "You have no idea what you've done, boy," the leader replied. "He told you to leave," Annabeth said, raising her voice. The man laughed loudly. "And a screaming priss is gonna make me want to run for the hills? Yeah right, not after what you've done." The leader pointed a finger at me. "You nearly killed two of my finest men." I noticed that both of the men I had cut were gone now, and that two red spots were right in front of one of the black hummers. "You're outmanned and outgunned," Thalia pointed out. There's no way this could end nicely for you." The leader stayed silent, as if he just realized this. "Hell's coming to you, I swear it." He turned, and walked back to his hummer. The rest of his men followed, and soon, all of the trucks were dots in the distance.

Percy swore and began to pace back and forth. "Why? Why would you bring trouble to us?" He asked me. "Percy, he was going to kill her," I said, trying to defend myself. "It wasn't our business to help her!" Percy yelled. Everybody except for me took a step back. I was not going to back down. "Percy, you need to stop and think about this. They were obviously armed and trying to stop someone friendly. That girl said she was bringing a message to us." Percy breathed deeply. "What makes you think she wasn't lying?" He asked. "Just trust me," I said. He calmed down and said, "I'm sorry. Look, we didn't need the trouble, but you did the right thing." He turned towards the group. "Everybody, i'm sorry but for the next couple weeks, we have to go under lockdown. Nobody goes outside of the mansion grounds, and only certain people come in. We have to go back on our daily duties as well. When this is over, I promise you'll all have a week off. Connor and Travis, you guys have first watch. Retrieve a sniper from the storage. We'll get you when lunch is ready." They both nodded and rushed off. Everybody followed, quickly jogging back to the mansion. I decided to walk with Sarah, Percy, and Annabeth. Annabeth and Percy strayed behind, and I could hear Annabeth trying to soothe Percy. I felt guilty now because Percy has to deal with the repercussions of what I had done. As if she read my thoughts, Sarah said, "Don't worry, Jack. You did the right thing. Percy was just kinda shocked. Why do you think he still backed you whenever we all showed up?" I shook my head. "But now everyone has to suffer because of what I did."

"Is anyone complaining?" Sarah asked. I stayed silent and she continued. "Jack, we're a family. No matter what happens, it stays that way. And it's better to save someone's life and have trouble than to let that person die and stay out of trouble." I looked at her and she smiled sweetly. Her light gray eyes inspected me, and I frowned. "Do your eyes change color?" I asked. She laughed. "Your quick to change subject, but in answer to your question, yes. They're usually gray, but sometimes they turn green." She looked at me again, and asked, "Are you going to be alright?" I grinned. "Yeah, but i'm still sorry." Just before she could yell at me again, we reached the mansion and had to immediately part ways. Percy put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I need you to go and see what that girl needed to tell us, and then I want you to start barricading the windows. Leave enough space for the barrel of a gun to fit. Oh, and after dinner, you're taking the watch with Delta. You two work well together." I nodded, and I figured that I should follow Percy's orders. After all, he is the boss.


	5. Chapter 5

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

**Welcome back everyone! This is the fifth installment of The Wasteland Warriors and all i'm going to say is to be prepared for some particularly good writing. **

Chapter 5 First Encounter

"Staring at the stars in the middle of the night is surprisingly entertaining," I said sarcastically to Delta, who sat in the chair next to me. Delta laced his hands behind his head and peered over at me. "It's not my favorite thing to do though. I mean, all we do is sit in chairs on top of this roof and watch to see if anyone is coming. Who's gonna' storm the gates in the middle of the night?" I rolled my eyes. "Stop whining please," I said irritably, "It's bad enough we have to sit up here anyways." I sighed, then said, "Can you pass me a drink?" Delta leaned over and pulled a water bottle out of an insulated tub. He then tossed it half-heartedly to me. I took several large gulps, and when I felt satisfied, I put the bottle down. "So what did that girl say?" Delta asked. I looked at him questioningly, and he said, "You kicked me out, remember?" I nodded, remembering how the girl was freaking out with Delta around. "Well, first of all, her name is Miranda. She was, ironically, coming to tell us that the water pump man was forming squads to attack us, with about twenty men or so." Delta nodded, and took a swig from a beer bottle. "Are you seriously drinking alcohol, man?" I asked him distastefully.

He waved the bottle in the air and stated, "It numbs the senses, so therefore I don't have to listen to everybody whine in this shithole." I twitched, and stood abruptly. I grabbed the beer from his hands, and heaved it off the side of the roof. He simply glared at me, grabbed another, and took a huge swig. When he came back for air, he replaced his glare with an empty look. "Why'd ya' do that?" He asked. "Because," I replied, "You shouldn't be drinking when we're supposed to be watching out for people." He took another gulp, and said, slurring his words, "I told you already, I do not want to suvver throo this irritating shi-" I grabbed the beer once more, and did the same thing. Only this time, I planted my foot on the lid of the cooler when Delta reached for another. His steely glare was fixed directly into my eyes. Obviously, he was drunk, and he was becoming hostile towards me. "Take...Your foot...Off the lid," He said, venomously. I said nothing, but past events showed that I wasn't big on backing down, and I wasn't going to start anytime soon. We stared each other down for a moment longer, and then Delta was on his feet and shoving me backwards. I stumbled, and I barely had enough time to react as Delta swung his fist towards my face. I ducked, and the heat of the moment forced me to drive my fist into his stomach. He recoiled and wheezed deeply, clutching the area I punched him. "Delta, I don't want to fight you," I said slowly. He breathed for a moment longer, and then he flew towards me again, planting his fist in my jaw. I spun backwards, and fell to the floor. I gripped my jaw, and before I could move, Delta stuck his knee down on my chest and punched me again. And again. And _again._ With each punch, he yelled, and before his seventh punch hit me, Delta suddenly hesitated. I watched his facial expressions, that went from pure shock, and then back to his drunk filled rage. As he went to swing once more, a black figure tackled Delta, straight from my chest. I tried to see who hit him, but my vision was blurred too much.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed my shoulders, and began dragging me towards the door accessing the roof. My vision cleared slightly, and the figures were dressed in pure black jackets and pants, and the man dragging me was..._Oh no, _I thought as realization dawned on me. The guy dragging me was one of the crew of the man who tried to stop Miranda. We made it to the door, and just before he dragged me through, I managed enough strength to press the tiny red button on the left side of the door.

The blaring alarm cut through the silent night, and the man swore. "Mickey! We gotta go!" He yelled, throwing me down the first flight of stairs. Jeff followed, replying, "But, Arkley, I thought the boss said to get everyone!" Arkley swore again, picking me up and continuing to drag me. "We got the main ones, besides, i'd rather face Boss down then get shot." Arkley dragged me down the hall, then kicked the door blocking our path out of the stairwell straight off it's hinges. I heard gunshots and the schwing of blades hitting skin. Everybody was too focused to notice Delta and I, and neither of us could shout out, Delta because he had tape over his mouth, and me because I didn't have nearly enough strength to speak. We were dragged into a nearby room, and then, as Arkley threw the window open, I heard several people scream. Before I knew why, Arkley tossed me and Delta out the window. I landed on the ground with a thud, and immediately, black spots hit my vision. I groaned, and I couldn't take it any longer. I passed out.

**The Next Morning**

Slowly, very slowly, I awoke. I opened my eyes, but as soon as I did, I regretted it. A light from the other side of the room shone directly at me, and I snapped my eyes shut once more. A light moan escaped my lips, and I tried to open my eyes again. This time, I managed to get them halfway open, and I began to remember what happened the night before. My mind went on alert, and I started surveying my surroundings. I was in a square, concrete room, with a steel door directly in front of me and the small window the light was coming from was to the right. Unfortunately, it was covered with iron bars, so there was no hope for escape there. I looked behind me, and saw Percy, Annabeth, Sarah, Delta, and Nico all tied to chairs in a circle formation. I looked down and realized I was too. I struggled against the thick rope, and I realized there was no way I was going to get free soon. "Delta," I said quietly. He stirred, and I spoke slightly louder. "Delta." This time, he opened his eyes, and immediately knew what was happening. He woke Percy up, and Percy did the same with everybody else. "Percy, what's happening?" Annabeth said, her voice cracking with fear. "Don't worry, Annie, it's gonna' be okay," Percy said, looking straight at her. She nodded, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Sarah, are you alright?" I asked, looking at her. She seemed to come out of a daze as I said her name, and she simply looked at me.

After a couple of seconds, she nodded, and Delta was the one who piped up. "You guys, we have to get out of here." Percy whipped towards him and glared. "No shit Sherlock. We wouldn't even be in this situation if you had been keeping watch instead of drinking. And Jack, if you hadn't been fighting with him, you would've noticed something." I shook my head angrily. "Can we focus on getting out of here instead of fighting?" I asked. "Please?" Sarah asked in a small voice. I could hear Percy breath loudly. "Okay, how do you suggest we get out of here?" I looked around the room for a moment, then noticed that we were all tied to a rusty, metal pole. "Is anybody near kinks in the pole?" I asked. Everybody looked and felt around for a moment, then said they weren't. "We can't slip out of them either," Delta pointed out. Before we could say anything else, the man who started this all swung the steel door open, and strolled into the room. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the rotten kids who decided to get in my way." He walked closer to me, and slapped me hard across my face. I could have sworn my jaw broke, and yet I still stared him down, emotionless. "Jack, I believe it was." He said, walking around us. "Sarah, Annabeth, Percy, and Delta. Hmm, yes, this is quite nice." He stopped in front of me once again, and leaned until his face was inches from mine. "I think that we'll start with you, eh?" I spat in his face, and he swiped it angrily. "No," he said, his voice dangerously calm, "I think we'll start with the girls. Men! You know what to do," he turned and winked at them, and they all grinned from ear to ear. I sat, dumbstruck as they started cutting Sarah's ropes, and then Annabeth's. "No," Percy said, pleading. "No please, not her. Take me. Take me you coward! NO!" One of the men picked Annabeth up and slung her over his shoulder. She screamed, slamming on his back. "Percy!" "Annabeth!" Percy yelled back. "Take me you coward! Take ME!" With each yell, the man laughed louder, and louder until he slammed the door shut. "_NOOO!" _Percy yelled in complete despair. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" He yelled at Delta and I. "_ANNABETH! ANNABETH!" _He continued like this, fighting with all of his might against the bonds.

Slowly, he began to get quieter, and he began to sob almost silently. "Annabeth," he whispered. I felt a cold hand grip my heart. Both Annabeth and Sarah were gone, and there was nothing to stop the terrible things coming upon them. I forced myself not to think about it, and I focused on everything else. My jaw was at least dislocated, if that's even possible, and I could feel blood dripping across it. _Blood! That's it!_ I thought. I knew I had to tell Percy and Delta, but how could I with a jaw that was out of place. All I could do was fix it, so I decided a more unorthodox method. I turned my head as far left as it would go, and then snapped it to the right. I had my jaw perfectly in line with my shoulder, and when they impacted each other, my jaw slung back into place, and I yelled in pain. I knew that the worst was not over, so I moved quickly with the pain. I rubbed my wrists back and forth against the rope, until they seared with pain. Suddenly, I could feel the warm trickle of blood, and I rubbed a bit faster. After a minute, my wrists were covered in a light amount of blood, and I began to pull up. The blood did exactly what I wanted it to. It slicked my wrists, just like butter would, and made it easier for my hands to glide through the rope. I pulled, and I pulled until one of my hands popped free. I stopped tugging with the other. I untied the rope on my other hand, and both my feet, and stood up. My vision swam, and I steadied myself momentarily. I walked in front of Delta, who had his head down, and I tapped on him. He looked up, wide-eyed, and so did Percy. I cracked my knuckles, and I could tell my face held a deadly glare. "Guys, I think it's time we show these idiots who they're dealing with."

**Sorry for the late update everyone, but im already working on the next chapter, which should be out by the end of today. Hope you guys liked it!**

** -N**


	6. Chapter 6

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

**Hello again everyone! I know I am WAY behind schedule, so I think I most definitely need to say thank you to those who stayed with me and followed my story. So, i'm sure those of you are here to read the actual story, so here it is. **

"You ready guys?" I asked quietly. Percy and Delta were standing on either side of the door, and they quickly nodded. I licked my chapped lips, and I slammed three times on the door as hard as I possibly could. "Hey retard! You realize that you suck at tying ropes, right?"

I took several steps back, and waited for the guards I knew were standing outside. I started tapping my foot in anticipation. It had been just over thirty minutes since they took Annabeth and Sarah, and God knows what things they had already done to them. Suddenly, the door swung inward, and three guards with police batons walked in, preparing to beat me. Once they were clear of the door, they began to form a half circle around me. Before they could attack, Percy and Delta kicked the guards' legs on either side of me out from under them, and I sprung into action, swiftly taking down the shocked guard in front of me with a blow to the windpipe.

I crouched down and felt a small glimmer of satisfaction as I frisked the guard for his keys and gun. I stood once more, and together, we rushed out the door.

Twirling the baton nervously, I jogged down the surprisingly clean, iron corridors. I turned a corner, and in front of us were several cells. We checked each one, which had at least two occupants each. Every person inside was either young, middle-aged, anorexic, or brutally beaten. They simply turned their heads as we walked pass, and I couldn't take it. I moved to one cell, and swung the master key out. Immediately, Percy's hand gripped my wrist, and he looked at me with steely eyes. "Jack, two things. First, you have no clue why these people are in here, and second, we have no time to lose." I nodded at him, and replied, "Nobody deserves this though, and I agree, we have no time to lose. So if you help me, than this will take less than five minutes." We stood, stares locked, and he nodded. His jaw clenched in irritation, him and Delta darted to other cells, pulling out their own keys, and opening the cell doors. I opened the door in front of me, and the kid inside, roughly ten years old, stood up. "Are we...Are we free?" He asked. I smiled and nodded. He slowly moved forward, and as I went on to the next cells, I was aware of him just standing there. In about three minutes tops, all the cells were open, and the twenty or so occupants were all released. A bulky, bald, sour faced black man strolled up to me, stopped momentarily, then stuck out his hand. I shook it firmly, and anything that was needed to be said was simply expressed right there.

Unanimously, everybody had already agreed to stay behind us, and move as stealthily as they could. There would be no escape if anyone was caught.

Percy, Delta, and I were moving through the facility again, and we came to an intersection of corridors; There was one to the right, to the left, and straight forward. We all looked at each other, and silently agreed to go our separate ways. "Be careful," I said. Delta nodded and replied, "You too." Percy looked at me and said, "You find her, get her out of here safely." I nodded, and all three of us turned on our heels and moved down the corridors. I got the right corridor, and I instantly began scanning it. It had single, iron columns lining up against the walls on either side of the hall. It wasn't as much for support, but simply for an ugly decor. Already, I saw four rooms, two on each side of the hall. I saw three guards patrolling in front of me as well, and I was forced to dive behind a column just as one turned towards me. I held my breath as he passed, and slowly, I moved out from cover. I stalked towards him, and when I was in range, I cupped my right hand over his mouth, pressed my left hand against the back of his head, and jerked. He crumpled to the ground, but I caught him, effectively stopping him from making too much noise. I dragged him behind the column I had previously hid, then I continued moving down the hall.

I came upon one of the doors, and I looked to my left. Directly across the hall was a similar door and it appeared that symmetry was also a fashion here well practiced. I pushed my ear against the door, and since I heard nothing, I slowly opened it. There was a simple table in the center of the room with several chairs around it. On the left side of the room, there was yet another door, and I glided across the floor towards it. I repeated my earlier actions, and this time, I heard talking. I managed to pick out three voices, and all of them were clearly male. I shook my head, and unnoticed, I moved back out into the hall. I made sure that no guards were coming as I ran across to the other door. I did the same thing for the third time, and I got the same results, all except for the furniture being the same. This time, there was three simple couches around a coffee table.

Becoming frustrated, I went as quickly as I could down the hall without getting caught, but I had moved just a little too fast. One guard turned my way and asked his buddy, "Did you hear something?" They looked at each other momentarily, and each drawing a firearm, moved down the corridor. I was posted up behind a column, my breath frozen solid in my chest. I could hear each clop of their steps echoing, and each growing second grew more tense. I began hearing the clops to my left, meaning that they had passed me, and I leaned out of cover. I saw both of them still moving at the same pace, and I decided this was my time to strike, but before I had a chance to take them out, a few men yelled from down Delta's corridor, and the guards sprinted off. I knew I had no time left, and as more men rushed out of the rooms I had already checked, I realized none came from those I hadn't checked. I figured that somebody important would stop guards from rushing out of those rooms, so I figured my best chance of finding Annabeth or Sarah would be to finish searching them.

I ran to the room on the left side of the hall, and hearing loud commotion inside, I knew i'd need to draw them out. I banged on the door, and through it I said in a deep voice, "Come on! They need us out here! The-uh-prisoners are escaping!" A voice replied, "Why did you say that through the door?" Immediately, I said, "Because there's no time! Let's go!" It seemed to have worked. I took a position behind a nearby column, and instantly, six men rushed out of the room and down the hall. I moved next to the now open door, and drawing my pistol, I walked inside. The whole place was empty, so I decided to check the adjacent room. Disregarding the small voices inside, I turned the doorknob and swung the door out. I darted inside, and as three men turned towards me, I noticed Sarah tied to a chair between them, with a gag in her mouth. In moments, all of the men slumped to the floor, clutching their side, and I moved towards Sarah. She said something several times through her gag, but I couldn't understand it. I took the gag off of her and she yelled, "Look out!" I turned swiftly, but only to be hit directly in the face with a baton. Dazed, I tried to fend off the man who hit me. I rolled backwards, landing on my feet. The man swung his weapon once more, and I ducked underneath it, planting my fist in his stomach. He stumbled, and I took this as a chance to finish this while I could. Not wanting to kill anybody, I grabbed his baton from his hands and brought it down upon his shoulder. He crumpled to the floor, and once I was sure he was out, I turned around, and started untying Sarah's ropes. "Thanks for the warning," I said, "Though it came a bit slow." I dropped the ropes on the floor, and she stood rubbing her wrists. "Yeah well, it's a bit hard to talk through a gag." I nodded and continued. "We have to go across the hall to check for Annabeth." I turned my head towards her. "Are you alright?" I asked concerned. "I'm fine now," she said. "They hit me a few times when I screamed, but nothing else." "Good," I said, "Well, let's get a move on then." She nodded, and I retrieved my gun from the floor. We moved out of the room, and across the hall. This time, I heard no sounds inside, so I opened the door quickly. I searched the room, and all around stood four people. Two men were on either side of the room, pointing guns at me, and in the center stood Annabeth and a man, more specifically, Annabeth and the boss of the whole operation. He had a gun to her head and his hand over her mouth so she couldn't talk. He grinned when he saw me enter. "Well, looks like I underestimated you and your friends." His smile dropped, only to be replaced by a look of anger. "Drop your weapon now, or your friend here dies." Annabeth tried to say something, but it was muffled by his hand. I pointed the gun to his head, and making a split second decision, I bluffed. "You think I care about her?" A look of confusion replaced everybodies tense expressions. "C'mon chief, you should know how it is out here in the Wasteland. Survival of the fittest, right?" Sarah tapped my shoulder. "What are you doing?" She hissed. I ignored her, and with my thumb I pulled the hammer back on my pistol. "Now, let's think about this logically. I believe, that even though your men have guns already pointed at me, they won't be able to shoot in time to save you if I suddenly decide to finish you off. So, my proposal is that you drop _your_ weapons, let the girl go, and stay out of my way. Sound like a deal?" He stood there, breathing heavily simply from anxiety, and I saw in his eyes he had made a decision. He swiveled his gun away from Annabeth, and straight towards me, but by the time he had his sights on, he was too late. Just as I assumed she would, Annabeth drove her elbow into the boss's stomach, and I dropped to one knee and shot the man to the right. I did the same with the left, and I ran straight forward and tackled the boss, just as Annabeth moved out of the way. I sat on his chest, and put the gun against his head.I smiled fiendishly, and said, "I think Percy would enjoy talking to you, don't you think?" I hit him across the face and stood up. I rolled him over, and taking nearby duct tape, I tied his hands together behind his back. "Sarah, help me get this fat lug up." She moved forward, and we picked him up together. "You will regret this," he said, "I swear it!" I rolled my eyes. "Be quiet," I said, bringing down the butt of the pistol on his head. He slumped in our arms as we started dragging him out, and I made sure I had a gun pointed at him, just in case something happened. As soon as we turned to walk down the hall, we were faced down by several more men surrounding Percy and Delta. I immediately pulled the hammer down, silently expressing my warning to the guards.. "Let all of us go and your boss doesn't die." We all stood there in silence after that. Several moments later, one of them said, "Let them go." Percy and Delta walked towards us slowly, and then turned around. Together, our group moved quickly around their guards, and down the hall. We turned down the forward corridor and in a moments time, we were next to the front doors of the building.

The guards, still directly in front of us, asked the question they've all been dying to ask. "Are you going to give him to us?" I rubbed my chin for a moment, then pointed my gun at them. "I decided against it." Immediately, several of my pistol's round buried itself in three separate chests, and we all rushed outside. "There's a car!" Percy said, pointing to a black SUV. "Wait, isn't there more of our people inside of there?" Annabeth asked quickly as we ran towards the truck. "No," Delta said, "They're all dead." I shook my head, and then threw the boss into the trunk of the SUV. "Let's just get as far as possible from this place," I said, slamming door to it shut. "I second that," Sarah said, scooting over in the SUV to make a space for me. I flung myself down into the seat next to her, and then rolled down the window. I stuck the gun out, speaking to Percy at the same time. "I have about two bullets left, so if we could get back to the mansion, that'd be great." He mumbled something under his breath as he toyed with the wires, then said, "Yeah, if I could actually get this piece of junk to work, then we could get somewhere." Just then, the rest of the guards, fully regrouped, rushed out the door and began firing. I ducked down underneath the window, pulling Sarah with me and away from harm. She swiped the hair from her face. "Thanks," she breathed quickly. "No prob," I said nonchalantly. I peeked out the window as the bullets stopped, and then had to duck again as they continued. They stopped again, and I moved quickly. I sat up and shot both rounds of my pistol, making their whole group scatter.

Just then, the car started, and Percy cheered. "Buckle up everybody, because we're getting the heck out of here!" He then stomped on the pedal, and we were on our way.


	7. Chapter 7

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

**Note: Hey everyone! I'm back again, and this time, a lot quicker than I thought myself. Well, to anybody reading this, I hope you enjoy. I know I did. (P.S. In the last chapter, I screwed up and didn't put the name. If anyone noticed, don't worry, i'll fix it.)**

Chapter 7 Damage Control

The SUV was surprisingly quiet as we tore along the road. Percy and Annabeth were in the front two seats, talking about the previous events. At one point, Annabeth tried to lighten the tense mood between everybody by cracking a joke about how I was going to get everyone killed. It just made it worse. I don't think anybody really wanted to talk about the facility, and I could see why.

I was staring out the window, thinking deeply about the people who were imprisoned there, when we finally pulled up to the mansion. I heard Percy sigh as he looked over the damages. Windows were shattered, the front doors were broken in, and bullet holes dotted the mansion's exterior. Everyone vacated the car, and I popped open the trunk of the SUV. I saw the Boss still unconscious, and I decided that I would need Delta's help carrying him. I called him over, and he silently assisted in lifting and dragging the boss inside.

It was a lot worse than the outside, that was for sure. Floorboards were in pieces, full walls had collapsed, and blood was smeared across everything. I shook my head and Delta and I stopped at the base of the stairs leading up to the bedrooms. "Guys!" I called. "Hello! Anybody still here?"

I heard a few footsteps, and several people appeared at the top of the stairs; Jacob, Miranda, Connor, and Travis stood stunned as we looked up at them. "Wha-We, we thought you were dead." Jacob stuttered, obviously shocked. Percy stepped forward. "Yeah, well, we're not. Jacob, please tell me there's more survivors than just you guys." Jacob nodded, and Percy breathed a sigh of relief, closing his eyes. "Thank god," he said quietly.

He reopened his eyes as quickly as he closed them, and, with authority lining his voice, he said, "Round everyone up and tell them to meet in the kitchen in five minutes. We have things to discuss." Jacob nodded once more, and he, Miranda, Blake, and Ashley rushed off.

Percy turned around. "All of you guys should come as well. This concerns the entire manor." We all nodded, knowing exactly what Perce was referring to. He bit his lip, and his eyebrows scrunched together. "Ok, you guys can do whatever 'till then." We all glanced at each other, and then walked off to our separate rooms.

Once I was inside, I opened the door to my bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. Dirt was smeared across my face and clumps of my hair were matted by blood. My shirt was torn in multiple places as well, and I had a large, deep cut running down the length of my arm. I grabbed a nearby washcloth and managed to get most of the blood out of my hair, and I easily swiped the dirt from my face. I carefully cleaned out the cut and covered it with gauze, then turned around and opened my cabinet, replacing my torn shirt with a clean, black t-shirt. I then noticed my pants, which were also ripped, and I replaced those with a newer, brown pair.

I heard a knock at my door, and I told whoever was outside to come in. It was Sarah, and she smiled at me despite the entire situation. I noticed that she had also cleaned herself up in the time we were given. She switched out of her earlier clothes that were torn, just like everyone else's, and into a simple tank top and jeans.

"I just came to tell you that everyone just showed up in the kitchen. You're starting to run late." I nodded at her and returned her smile half-heartedly. "Thanks Sarah." Her smile grew a little. "No problem," She said, walking back down the hall. I turned quickly towards my bed, and my backpack was still right where I left it. I made sure that everything important to me was inside, and I moved it next to my door.

Not wanting to be late, I shut my door quickly and ran down the hall. I entered the kitchen, and half of the people inside looked at me. "You're late," Percy stated unemotionally. "That I am," I replied, "Sorry Perce." He nodded, obviously not caring, and took his position in the front of the kitchen. "Everybody! I need you to pay close attention to what I am about to say." All eyes returned to Percy, and I leaned up against the side wall. "Obviously, we were attacked just yesterday night. Roughly twenty men caught us all by surprise, and they took a few of us prisoner, others were killed." He paused momentarily, then continued. "Annabeth, Sarah, Delta, Jack, and myself were the only prisoners who escaped alive." Multiple people in the small crowd gasped. Others nodded, like they expected this to happen. Percy continued with his speech. "Now, the safety of everyone is compromised. I hate to say it, but I fear we may have another attack like this soon. So, now the time has come that we finally go on the move again." An eerie silence filled the room and Percy cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "Over the course of the next few days, we will be gathering our belongings and leaving the security of the manor. From there, we will have to come up with a plan, but for now, this is all we can start with." He clenched his fists, and moved on from the topic. "I know most of you will be angry, so i'm sure you would like to know who was responsible for this. In fact, we have captured the man that caused this whole ordeal. Delta! Bring him in!" Suddenly, Delta and Jacob walked into the kitchen, dragging the boss with them. They stopped in front of Percy, and pushed the boss to his knees.

Percy took the tape off of his mouth, and clearly angry, he asked, "What is your name?" The boss, now terrified for his life, stuttered. "N-N-Nathan. Nathan White." Percy repeated the name several times before continuing. "So, Nathan, do you want to explain why you like murdering teenagers? Raping them and beating them to death?" Percy paused, waiting for answer, and then pulled a silver pistol out, placing it against Nathan's head. "ANSWER ME!" Percy yelled loudly, cocking the gun. "Tell me why you did those things! Tell me why you tried to do them to us! And tell me why you tried to do them to Annabeth!" Nathan whimpered and tried to shrink back, but Delta and Jacob held him in place. "I-I don't know!" Nathan said in a fearful voice. Percy growled audibly. "You don't know? YOU DON'T KNOW?" I moved forward and next to Percy. "Perce, keep your cool." Percy turned towards me. "Keep my cool? How can you possibly expect me to do that after what he was going to do to Annabeth? To us! Jack, he killed ten of us. Ten!" I grabbed the top of the gun, and looked Percy in the eyes. "I know what he did, but stooping to his level won't solve anything."

Percy swung his left hand towards me, hitting me in the face. I flew back a few paces, and looked back towards him. Percy told Delta and Jacob to move back, and they complied. "Last chance Nathan," Percy began, "Nobody's gonna' save you. So, tell me, were you just, doing it for fun? Or following someone else's orders?" "Put the gun down Perce," I interrupted, standing up. Annabeth moved forward and lightly touched him. "Percy please, don't do this." He shrugged her off and continued. "Don't make me repeat myself," Percy said in a dangerous tone. Nathan stuttered again. "B-both, I guess. Just, please, don't kill me! I-I know there's something wrong with me but please, don't kill me!" Percy's breath sped up, and his face filled with anger. "Put it down now Percy!" I yelled again, stepping forward. Again, he hit me and I stumbled too far backward to do anything. "Percy, stop!" Annabeth yelled distressed. "There's no point in this," Delta chimed in. "This isn't you!" Sarah said. Percy shook his head furiously. Annabeth, Delta, Sarah, and myself all started yelling at him to stop, and then, the sound of his roar and the clang of a bullet silenced everyone.

Percy's gun, now an inch away from the side of Nathan's face, was steaming. Percy lowered it, and his breathing slowed. "You aren't worth it," he said, kicking over Nathan. Nathan landed on his side with an umph. "Delta, Jacob, put him in a room and lock it, we'll decide what to do with him later." They nodded, relieved, and dragged him off.

Percy turned back to the stunned crowd, obviously embarrassed and ashamed at his outbursts. "I'm sorry everyone. Look just, start packing. We leave this Friday, four days from now." He stood momentarily, to let the whole scene sink in, and then he spoke again. "Dismissed."

Everyone filed out of the kitchen, and I was the first one up the stairs. I saw Delta locking a door, and he glanced up at me. We nodded at each other in acknowledgement and looked away. I opened the door to my room and walked inside, shutting my door just as quickly. I flopped down on my bed, and stared up at the ceiling. I thought about a great deal of things, including what was going to happen to us. "What are you planning for us up there?" I said to nothing in particular. I laid in silence for a moment longer, and then I yawned. "Guess we won't know until it happens, eh?" I rolled onto my side, and as fatigue took a grasp on me, I fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

** Note: Hey everyone. So, I need to note a few things. First, I realize that I said in my first chapter that I was going to add a bunch of fluff and this was going to be a super fluffy story. Well, it's not. And I also need to point out that this story is not completely about Percy and his gang and it isn't from their points of view, but it does still have them in the story, therfore making it a Fanfiction. Now, with that cleared up, I am back with a new installment to The Wasteland Warriors. I hope you all enjoy!**

Chapter 8 The Newcomer

The next two days were an absolute breeze. Everybody went about their daily lives all the while preparing for the move. Around noon on Thursday, I was in the middle of sharpening my blade when I heard a knock on my door. "Come in!" I called. The door opened and revealed Percy. "Need somethin'?" I asked nonchalantly. He smirked slightly. "I do actually. I'm sending you, Sarah, Delta, and Jacob to get supplies from the town." I nodded. "Ok. What kinds of supplies?" He pulled a small slip of paper from his pocket. "Not much. I just need you to recharge the car batteries, get some gas, and buy some dried food and water." He handed me the slip, which was a little more specific than what he said. "Take the ATV's though, ok? We got the Stolls, Thalia, and Jason working on trucks." I nodded, standing up and swinging my blade. "Alright. Give me a minute. I'll be out there soon." Percy retreated from my room, and I quickly threw my boots on, as well as my trench coat, my backpack, and my shades. I jogged down the stairs and walked through the kitchen and into the garage.

Just as Percy said, everyone was waiting for me;The Stolls, the Grace siblings, Sarah, Delta, and Jacob were all there, along with several empty water jugs and about eight car batteries. I walked over to one of the four-wheelers and swung my right leg over it. I quickly started engine and looked over to Delta and the rest of them. "You guys comin'?" I asked. They all started forward awkwardly, and jumped on their ATV's. I chuckled and turned towards Jason. "Hey J, you think you can get the garage door?" He stood up silently and pulled a nearby chain down, opening the door. "Thanks man." I said as I revved my engine. "Alright, let's get a move on guys. "

Once we reached the town, I knew something was wrong. We quickly pulled in and stopped outside of the bar, and we discussed what we were going to do. I pulled the slip of paper from the pocket on my coat and recited what it said. "Get twenty-five gallons of water, so, five of those jugs. Um, visit the local mechanic and have him recharge the batteries. Talk to Justin McKlarke and have him fill the gas cans. And lastly, visit the store and buy three tubs of dried rice and vegetables." I shook my head as I folded the slip of paper and replaced it. "Percy's plannin' on us being gone for a while." Jacob nodded and said, "Better safe than sorry though, right?" I chuckled lightly. "I suppose. So, any volunteers?" Jacob held up one of the car batteries on his ATV. "Considering these are all on my ATV, I'll go and get them recharged." I nodded and handed him some money. "That should cover it." I said. Delta caught my attention then spoke. "Same with me. I'll talk to Justin and get the gas." I handed him some money as well, and turned to Sarah. "So Sarah, food or water?" I asked. "Food I guess," She said. When I went to hand her money, she stopped me. "I'll get it, I should have enough." I frowned then said, "You shouldn't have to pay with your own money though." She nodded and said, "You shouldn't either. Besides, this is just the monthly wage that Percy gives me for food anyways. I help run the kitchen, you know." Even though I didn't know, I simply nodded at her. "Ok, that leaves me with the water. Everyone, meet back here in ten minutes." They all nodded and we drove off.

I stopped next to the town's water pumping station and was greeted by a smiling woman, about the age of twenty five. "Are you looking to get those filled?" She asked. "Uh, yes please," I replied. "How much will that be?" She scratched her chin thoughtfully, then said, "Around fifty dollars." I nodded expecting this. I handed her the money and she smiled again. "Thanks, come this way then." I returned her smile and picked up three of the jugs. She grabbed the other two and we walked over to the pump.

Like before, there was nobody looking to get water so the lady went right to getting me water. I set my jugs down next to her, and I took a couple of steps back, leaning against the metal gate. Because of the feeling I had earlier, I scanned the area. My gut seemed to have proved itself, because I could see two groups of men eying the area I was standing. They didn't look necessarily hostile, but they didn't look like they were trying to avoid a fight either. I continued looking around and my eyes landed upon the bar. On a second floor balcony, a man was leaning over the rail and looking straight at me. I could feel his gaze linger on me as I continued looking around, and it was making me uncomfortable. "Would you like some help?" A voice asked me. Startled, I swiftly turned towards the sound with my hand on my blade. I realized it was the lady, and I put my hand down. "Uh, did I scare you?" She asked sheepishly. I laughed slightly. "A little, but yes, if you could give me some help that would be great." She smiled and picked up a jug. I picked up two and walked with her to the ATV. "So you never told me your name," I said. She smiled slightly to herself. "Jesse. Jesse Anne. And your's?" "Jack Valentine," I replied quickly. I thought for a moment about what I was going to say as we put the bottles on my ATV. I noticed her bubbly attitude again and decided to ask. "So why are you so happy?" She laughed and said, "No particular reason really. I just think this world could use a few happy spirits, doncha' think?" I nodded, and as we finished placing the last of the bottles on my four wheeler, I looked towards Jesse. "Well, you certainly made my life brighter Jesse, so I say thank you." She grinned at me. "You're welcome Jack." She looked towards the station which now had several people at it. "Well, I gotta run. Come back again sometime, ok?" I nodded and stuck out my hand. She shook it firmly and jogged off. I turned away from her and began strapping the bottles down to the back of the ATV

As soon as I finished, I saw several men rush into the store where Sarah went to. Something didn't feel right, so I quickly drove and parked out front. I carelessly walked in the door and saw multiple men crowded around Sarah. "You think you can shoot up our men huh?" One asked threateningly. "Tear apart our whole facility?" A second asked. "And try to steal from us?" A third finished, grabbing her arm. I moved forward and pushed two men out of the way. "Fellas fellas please. What's going on here?" I asked them. A man stepped forward out of the group and spoke. "My name is Dante, and this witch here tried to steal from us." Sarah shook the man's hand off of her arm and looked at me. "Jack, I was a little under the amount I was supposed to pay. None of us noticed and as I was walking out, they did. They think I was trying to scam them." "And you were!" Dante said raising his voice. "Calm down," I said, pushing Dante back slowly with my arm. "How much was it?" I asked. Dante shoved me back. "No amount of money will fix what she did. I watched with my own eyes as this witch broke out of my facility and shot all of my men." _Great, a guard from the facility_, I thought becoming anxious. Dante looked at me for a moment longer, and when his expression changed to that of recognition, I knew I was caught. "You were there too! Subdue them!" Before I could react, several men grabbed Sarah and I. "You're coming with us you little rats!" He spat in my face.

Quickly, he walked us out the door and we started down the road. Dante was mumbling to himself about the things he was going to do to us. "Deja vu, huh?" I said to Sarah unafraid. Then, a gunshot rang out behind us, and one of the guards holding me dropped to the floor. "That's different though!" I said as a spun around and punched the guard to my right. I dove out of the way just as a guy rushed forward, holding a pistol in each hand.

Instantly, most of Dante's men dropped to the floor, clutching a part of their body. I heard Sarah scream and I turned just in time to watch Danted grab her and hold a knife to her throat. "I'll kill the girl if you take one more step!" He said instantly. Everyone stood in silence for what seemed like a minute, and then Dante spoke again, pointing the knife towards the mystery man. "Look, if you let me go-" Dante was suddenly cut off as a bullet entered his forehead. Both him and Sarah fell, but before Sarah hit the ground, the mystery man caught her. Delta and Jacob suddenly arrived on the scene, but everyone was once again stunned into silence. After a moment, the mystery man lifted Sarah up, and I got a good look at him.

First of all, his skin was a tanned white, and his hair was shaggy and about the length of Percy's. He was about my height, and looked about our average age, fourteen to fifteen. He was fairly built, just like most people in the Wasteland, and overall, he looked like he was prepared to do whatever he had to to accomplish his goal. _Just like me_, I thought. I shook my head, and broke the silence. "Who are you?" I asked with a partially hostile tone in my voice. He turned towards me, and replied. "Noland. Noland Dart."


	9. Chapter 9

**A Percy Jackson Fanfiction**

**Note: Hey Everybody! Welcome back to my story and thanks for reading it in the first place. So, without further ado, Chapter nine!**

Chapter 9

"So your name is Noland Dart then?" Percy asked. Noland, the person who had just an hour earlier saved Sarah and I's lives, nodded. "That's my name," he replied. Percy stood up from his chair and leaned against his desk. "Well then Noland, I suppose I should thank you for helping my friends out with that gang. I think that they would've been taken with ease had you not have shown up, uh, no offense to you guys." Sarah and I who were standing in the corner, along with Jacob, Delta, and of course, Annabeth, nodded in acknowledgement. Percy gestured towards the door and continued. "I have to speak to Jack in private so, if Sarah doesn't mind, she'll show you around." Percy looked at Sarah who blushed slightly and stumbled over her words. "Uh, s-sure. No problem Perce." Percy smiled and nodded. "Good. As for Jacob and Delta, you guys are free to have the rest of the day off. Be ready by seven o'clock in the morning. We pull out at seven thirty." They both nodded and Noland, Sarah, Delta, Annabeth, and Jacob filed out of the room. I turned towards Percy who had gestured to the chair in front of his desk. "Sit. I think there's a few things we need to discuss." I did as he commanded and surveyed the room.

We were inside of his study. Musty bookshelves lined the walls, and the floorboards beneath us were cracked and moldy. One large bay window was the only source of light, and since it was behind Percy, it was like I was staring straight at a shadow man.

Percy sat down in his own chair and I placed my sunglasses over my eyes. We sat for a few moments in silence, and then Percy spoke. "Can he be trusted?" I frowned in confusion, and he clarified. "Can _Noland_ be trusted?" I shook my head and replied. "It's too early to be sure about anything, so, I wouldn't know." Percy nodded as if he expected this. "So, what do we do about him then?" He asked. My unease must've shown on my face, because he spoke again. "Jack, as of right now you are the closest person to me besides Annabeth, therefore, I am asking your opinion." I nodded, then spoke after I felt I had my answer. "I think we should keep him around. Obviously he's good with his handguns, so he should be valuable if anybody tries to attack us." Percy nodded again. "But if he decides to turn them on us..." I finished his sentence for him "Then he should be a very dangerous person." We sat, staring at each other.

After what seemed like an hour, but was only a minute, Percy broke the silence. "Tell Noland he can stay." I nodded and stood up. I began walking to the door when Percy stopped me. "Jack?" I turned towards him as he finished. "He's outside the door." I nodded again and opened the door. Just as Percy said, Noland was leaning against the wall on my left. "You can stay," I said as I turned right towards the stairs. "Really?" Noland said in disbelief as he ran up beside me. "Really," I restated blandly as we reached the base of the stairs. I stopped and turned to face him. He noticed me staring and he turned to look at me. "What?" He asked. "Nothing," I said turning away. For a moment, I thought I saw a hint of satisfaction in Noland's face, but I dismissed it. "Your room is upstairs, first one on the left." I said as I walked to the kitchen. "Thanks!" He called. I waved my hand in acknowledgement and in a moments time, I appeared in the garage.

Delta was kneeling next to one of the few dirt bikes we had, and appeared to be fixing something on it. "How'd you know I was here?" He asked without turning around. I chuckled lightly and moved over to the dirt bike adjacent to him. I swung my leg over it and sat down. "I didn't," I replied, "I was coming to go riding." Delta nodded and continued working. He picked up a small metal box and replaced it with the one attached to the motorcycle. I shook my head and hid a smile. "Where do you learn these things?" I said under my breath. "You say somethin'?" Delta asked. I looked up and shook my head again. "Nope." He nodded then spoke again. "So hey, you think I could go riding with you? I just finished up fixing a component on the bike." I grinned. "Sure man, but we're gonna have to race. You realize that right?" He stood and returned my smile. "You're gonna get destroyed," he said arrogantly as he got on his bike and started it. I did the same and said, "That's what you think." We smiled at each other, and after we opened the garage door and put on our helmets, we rode off.

About two to three hours later, I stopped my motorcycle and pulled my helmet off. As Delta pulled up next to me, I ran my hand through my hair and opened the water bottle I had resting on the side of my bike. I took several large gulps and I could hear Delta breathing loudly as he took off his helmet. He spoke to me as he tried to catch his breath. "So that's, what? Five to five? It's starting to get dark too, which means we can't do a tiebreaker." I put my water down and nodded at him. "Yeah, looks like we're just as good as each other then Delta." I chuckled slightly and handed him my water. He took a large swig and looked over at me. "So, what now?" He asked. I shrugged. "I have no clue. I'm just gonna cool off before we head back." He nodded, and after a few moments, he spoke again. "So what do you think about Noland?" I shrugged. "I dunno. He's alright I guess." Delta nodded, then opened his mouth to speak. When he didn't say anything, I twirled my hand in the motion that says, 'Continue'. "So you don't care he's getting all touchy with Sarah?" He finally asked. I tensed slightly and replied, trying to keep my voice calm. "Can you explain that in better detail?" Delta raised his eyebrow, then said, "When I walked out of Percy's study, I went to my room. A couple minutes after, I realized I wanted to work on the bikes, I came out and I saw Noland leaning over Sarah in the hall. I kinda rushed downstairs so I didn't see what happened." I nodded and I could feel my face heating up. "Well, that's good for him." I said slightly annoyed. "So, you're not jealous then?" He asked leaning slightly closer to me. "Who ever said I was jealous?" I asked defensively. Delta laughed loudly at this. After a moment he said, "Dude, it's obvious that you like her. And it's obvious that you're jealous about it too." I looked at him with a stony glare. "Drop it," I said. He raised his hands up. "Hey, i'm not trying to start fight," he said. I nodded, and we sat for a moment longer in silence. I took another drink from the water bottle, and then spoke. "So what are _your_ thoughts on him?" I asked. Delta looked at me oddly. "Frankly, I don't like him. I think he's cocky." He smirked, and we laughed together. "Looks like we're in agreement then," I said forgetting my anger. I sighed afterwards, and frowned. "Somethin' about him doesn't seem right though," I said putting my hand underneath my chin. Delta leaned over the front handlebars of his bike, and peered off in the distance. "Agreed. Doesn't he seem like he's hiding something?" I nodded. "Yeah, but then again, it's probably just paranoia." I looked up at the sky, which was becoming a light orange. "Well hey, we should get back," I said, putting my helmet on. Delta followed my lead, and said, "Tiebreaker race back to the house?" I laughed and started my bike. "If you think you can keep up," I said. Delta started his bike and replied, "You'd be surprised my friend." I held up three fingers. Then two. Then one. And suddenly, we were off in a flash of dust and dirt.

Once Delta and I reached home, and after he had finished gloating about being the best at racing, he asked me if I wanted to hang out with him until dinner. I shook my head and said I was tired. He nodded and we shook hands and went our separate ways.

Immediately, I was in my room taking a shower. I washed the grime from my hair and my face, and in five minutes, I was getting dressed again. I threw on my only baggy shirt and a regular pair of pants, and I sat down on my bed. I took out my music player and my charger and started cranking the lever.

Surprisingly enough, my music player was fully charged after only a few minutes of cranking. I just shrugged and placed the charger carefully in my backpack. I picked up my music player, chose a song, and put my headphones in.

Slowly, I began to doze off. It must have been somewhere around two o'clock in the morning when I woke up. My eyes flicked open, and I looked around. After I was sure nobody was in my room, I sat up and yawned. I looked around my room, and I noticed that I still had my headphones in. I took them out and made sure the music was stopped. I stood up and stretched, but as I was stretching, I thought I heard a sound out in the hall. I swiftly grabbed my sword from its sheath and I walked to the door. I threw it open and looked around. The entire place was pitch black, so any chance of me seeing someone was gone. I closed my eyes and focused. I heard something to my right and I began walking down the hall. I moved slowly down the stairs and turned into the kitchen. My hand glided smoothly to the light switch, and after making sure my eyes were tightly closed, I flipped it on. I heard a voice cry out, but not loud enough to wake anyone up. My eyes flicked open, and I saw Noland in the center of the kitchen with a hand up above his eyes. I sighed loudly and lowered my sword. "What the hell are you doing?" I hissed at him. He finally took notice of me, and replied, "I couldn't sleep." I shook my head at him. "So you're sneaking around the mansion?" I asked. He shook his head. "I just came in from the roof. There's another door near the garage that leads to the stairwell." I shook my head a second time, this time conceding. "Ok, whatever, just, be more quiet next time." He gave me a thumbs up, and as I turned around, I could hear him shuffling away. I looked back and I could see him going into the garage. I flicked off the lights and ran up the stairs to my room. I dropped my sword on my bed, and I looked out the window. I stood, staring for several minutes, and then I got some results. I saw Noland pushing one of the dirt bikes out of the garage and then starting it. "Smart," I stated plainly, "Trying to kill the sound." I watched as he drove off, and I quickly put on my boots and I picked up my sword again.

I rushed out of my room and down to the garage. I started one of the bikes, not caring if anyone heard, and I grabbed a nearby pair of binoculars. Once I made sure my headlights were off, and that my sword was secured on the side of my bike, I moved out of the garage and into the night.

I drove as quickly as I could, following what was left of Noland's tire tracks. The moon was shining a bright light down, so it wasn't too difficult to see them. I began to notice the sand slapping against my face, and it was starting to sting. Regardless, I knew that time was of the essence, and if I slowed down, I wouldn't be able to find Noland in time.

About fifteen minutes of driving, I started to see figures in front of me. I slowed down and turned right, and I began to make a wide arc around where they were. Once I had reached the position I wanted to be in, and I felt that I wouldn't be seen where I was, I shut off my bike. I layed both it and myself against the and I rose my binoculars to my eyes. It took a second for my eyes to figure out what was going on, but I managed to pick out Noland. He was standing in front of several people, and then a girl moved forward. "Who is that?" I asked myself. And then it clicked, the dark, almost peirce black hair, the slim figure, and an angled face. The girl was Miranda! "What is she doing here?" I asked again. "More importantly, what is Noland doing here?"

I stopped talking to myself, and I simply watched. Noland and Miranda seemed to be talking normally, up until Noland threw his hands in the air and started walking back towards his bike. Miranda rushed in front of him and stuck her hand on his chest, pushing him back. Once he looked calm again, one of the nearby men walked to the only truck there. He leaned inside and came out holding a packaged envelope. He handed it to Miranda who in turn, handed it to Noland. He didn't look to see what in it. Instead, they continued talking. I layed for a moment longer then stood up, pulling my bike with me. I started it and began driving back to the mansion.

Just like before, I drove for fifteen minutes. I parked the bike where it last was and replaced the binoculars. I walked inside of the house, and sat down at one of the kitchen tables.

I waited about thirty minutes, and then suddenly, I heard the garage door creak open. Noland must not have noticed me, because he began to walk across the kitchen. "So where'd you go?" I asked. He jumped back and looked around. I waved my hand and drew his attention, and he calmed slightly. "Do you like scaring people?" He asked. "It's fun," I said sarcastically. "So where did you go?" He tensed once more. "What are you talking about?" He said nervously. I glared at him. "You know what i'm talking about Noland. Where'd you go?" After I said this, he relaxed and his voice sounded firm. "As I said, I couldn't sleep. Originally, I was on the roof. After you and I had our chat, I simply took one of the bikes out drove for a while." I continued staring at him in silence. _If I call him on his lie, he'll know that I was following him, _I thought, _and things could get bad. But if I don't, then I won't be able to truly know what's going on. _I sighed, and I nodded at him. "Ok, I believe you," I said, lying. "I'm uh, sorry I thought you were doing something traitorous or whatever." He looked at me, trying to see if I had lied to him. I laughed inwardly and gave him a point for being able to notice something odd. Then, he shrugged. "It's ok," he said, "I _have_ been acting weird. It's no surprise you'd be getting suspicious." I nodded at him and stood up. "Ok, now that this is cleared up, I guess i'll be going to bed." He just watched me as I turned out of the kitchen. Once I reached the top of the stairs, I heard him following behind me so I knew he wasn't going to be doing anything else that was suspicious.

I walked into my room and layed down on my bed. Concerned about the things I saw, it was hard to sleep, but even so, I eventually slipped into unconsciousness.


End file.
